E.U. To Warn Importers on Products from Israeli Settlements
BRUSSELS, Nov 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The European Union (E.U.) will warn E.U. importers of products from Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories on customs duties they may be liable for, the European Commission said on Friday, news agencies reported.
According to the terms of an E.U.-Israel accord, products exported from Israel may enter the E.U. duty-free, but those from the Occupied Territories are taxable because EU customs regulations are based on pre-1967 borders, said a spokesman.
"It will be a warning that a dispute exists between the European Union and Israel," he said, stressing that products produced in Gaza, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and the West Bank must be accompanied by "certificates of origin."
European importers, he said, could be charged duties on these by their respective national customs authorities on a range of products if it turns out they came from Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.
Products originating in the settlements are taxable at rates ranging from 2.5 to 12 percent, which those imported from Israel may enter duty free with the exception of raisins, which are taxed at 2.4%.
The subject came up earlier this week at an E.U.-Israel association council here at which rules on product originating in the Jewish settlements came up.
The commission insisted the question was not political, saying the warning to importers was "an administrative act."
